A Modern Family In Israel

Meiray Ben Ari, a member of the Israeli Knesset, has announced that she is expecting… But her pregnancy is not the ubiquitous fairy tale story typically espoused by a rising politician seeking to portray a traditional family for the public’s viewing pleasure. Instead, Ben Ari is an expecting single mother who proudly decided to have a baby with her male friend who happens to be gay.

Ben Ari shared the happy news with a major Israeli newspaper in the hopes of dispelling any rumors that she was unexpectedly knocked up. She explained that her life as a public official did not leave a lot of time for a personal life and she did not have a partner. However, she is 40 years old and realized she was ready for a family at the same time.

As a result, she approached her gay friend, Ophir, and explained her proposition. She recalled: “I told him, let’s create a child and raise him, and Ophir agreed.”

Ben Ari also hopes that single women hoping for a child will be inspired by her story; she said: “I told the story also to give inspiration and courage to other women, to give them strength not to give up the right to have children, even if they do not have a spouse.”